1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for processing pixel values, and more specifically, to a method and apparatus of performing intra-field interpolation for generating interpolated pixel values.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many television and video signals are interlaced, where the set of scan lines (typically 525 for NTSC color television) which make up a single video frame are not scanned or transmitted sequentially. Rather, the video frame is divided into two “fields”, each field comprising every other scan line. In television, the scan lines comprising one field are transmitted first, followed by the scan lines of the second field.
However, a number of display devices, such as computer monitors, are not interlaced. Rather, these devices sequentially scan the entire display area, one scan line after another. To display an interlaced scanned sequence, such as a video signal, on such progressively scanned devices, a deinterlacing process must convert each separate field into a complete display frame that can be sequentially output to the display device. The main task of a deinterlacing process is to reconstruct the missing line between each of the scan lines of an interlaced field.
There are two primary deinterlacing methods, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. “Inter-field” techniques simply merge the data from the second field with the data from the first field to produce a completed frame. If there is no motion in the video frame, such methods yield an ideal reconstituted picture. Vertical resolution can be as good as an original noninterlaced frame. However, if there is motion within the video signal, motion effects will generally be visible to the human eye. Motion effects arise when an object, which was in one location during the scanning of the first field, has moved when the alternating scan lines of the second field are scanned. Simply combining the interlaced scan lines of the two fields yields an unacceptable rendition of the object.
“Intra-field” techniques use data only from a single field to produce a complete frame. Such methods are better suited for video frames having motion. With an intra-field technique, the values for non-existent pixels are interpolated from pixel values in the scan lines above and below the non-existent pixels. While this technique produces no deleterious motion effect, since it does not incorporate motion from one field to the next, it also does not enhance vertical resolution, since it merely interpolates from existing pixel values within a single field and does not use pixel information for missing scan lines from the second field. Also, simple intra-field deinterlacing techniques (such as simple vertical interpolation) tend to generate unacceptable jagged pictures along diagonal edges.